Pirate Rivalries
by Cozziellamas
Summary: Eh, sorry, raging failfic. Due to stress and other complications, I am discontinuing this story. Read if you want, though don't be too disappointed. Not changing to complete, 'cause it's not.
1. We Meet A Pirate

**Eh, well, this is my first Ratchet and Clank story. It started as a project for some class I had a while back, and I found the first few chapters sitting in my document graveyard, and dusted it off. There are no guarentees I will be continuing, or finishing this story, due to the fact I cannot seem to work on two stories at once, T-T, but maybe after I finish the one I'm working on... I hope you enjoy, and if you choose not to read, at the last chapter, (if I get that far,) there will be a summary for you folks ;)** **I don't own R&C, just MOC's Alya, and Flant.** **Please, enjoy.** -O-

Alya swaggered about on deck, nibbling on her lower lip, considering the area. Before her was a large settlement on Kreeli Comet, strange place for a colony, but it would work. Isolated from the outside world, it would take weeks for help to come, and her crew would be long gone, the many pilfered bolts slipping through their fingers.

She sighed, pausing on the Starboard Aft rail, looking out at the cold, desolate landscape, then righted herself, and continued to stalk the upper deck. After a few moments of pondering, she called her crew to the High Deck.

"Alright, you slobbering dolts! Listen up, this settlement has no guards whatsoever, meaning we get to do what?" she asked in a brassy tone.

"Plunder! Kill! Fire!" the crew chanted, "Kill! Plunder! Fire! Kill! Plunder! Fire! Kill! Plunder! Fire!"

"Excellent. Flant?" Alya called, watching the crew work themselves into a fury.

Immediately a small rusted robot came to her side, looking up, "Um, um, yes, your Ruthlessness?" he asked in a high, whiny voice.

"Get me a mirror, would you? Don't want to go into a plundering trip looking like a blender-full of cattle," she drawled.

"Right away, Captain," Flant saluted, whizzing off on his single wheel.

She smiled briefly, and draped gloved hand over the large wooden wheel, feeling very pirate-like at the moment. A whirring noise told her Flant had returned. Alya turned, and helped the small robot position the shiny plate of glass before her.

Most would say she was a promising specimen of the Lombax species, but she could care less. She was slight of build, her limbs were slim, but strong, a long tail flicked to and fro behind her. A pair of long ears grew out the back of her skull. This was all topped with a covering of dark, royal purple fur with navy blue highlights, and shoulder length black hair. On her cheek was a forest green tattoo, formed in an S with two lines curving dramaticly through it, Alya used this as her insignia.

She wore a suit of black armor, with odd swirling highlights of gold, and in silver, her S insignia on the chest plate. Her hands were covered by thin leather gloves, her feet by metal plate-boots, complete with hover-gear. Between the fingers on her left hand, three sharp little blades, made of some sort of metal;a pair of knuckle-claws.

Alya nodded, "Not bad. Not bad at all. Thank you, Flant, you are dismissed. Also, prepare the extra batteries, nano-tech, and soldering tools, I have a feeling a few of my crew might fall apart this trip," she sighed.

"Right 'way, ma'am," Flant saluted and whirred off.

Alya looked over the lower deck from her position on the quarter deck. Her crew were milling about, grunting and growling, sharpening cutlasses, and other weapons of destruction. They would raid within the hour.

Alya looked over her ship, pleased with the remodeling she had had done. The _Dragon Thorn _was fashioned after ancient sailing ships from a dead planet in a far away solar system. Looking much like those old time pirate ships, complete with cannons and whatnot, it was far from the same. Before undocking, and taking to space, a force field lowered itself down around the _Dragon Thorn_ sealing in breathable air, then during space travel, the force field recycled the air, making it breathable again. Below decks were a series of computers, software and hardware, force field prison cells, navigation systems, and even freezers for preserving everything from bodies, nano-tech, and food.

She shifted the wheel, and brought her in to the docking area.

After consulting a small bottle of rum to gather ruthlessness, Alya drew her saber, and spoke loudly.

"Are we all ready?" she called.

"Aye!"

"Good, if you weren't, I don't give a shit anyways. Now, crew of the _Dragon Thorn_, move out! We've a village to plunder!" she said, waving her sword about dramaticly.

With a loud cheer, the assorted crew of robots and squishies crowded the gang plank and swarmed off once it hit the dock. Screams rent the air, as her crew attacked the settlement. Alya nodded, and came down the steps of the quarter deck, and down the gangplank. With a smirk, she activated her hover boots, and shot off the _Dragon Thorn_, and down the dock.

-O-

"Ratchet, my scanners are picking up a disturbance nearby," Aphelion chirped, a screen under the dashboard lighting up.

"Where is it?" Ratchet asked from his position in the cockpit.

"It appears the new village on Kreeli Comet, seems like pirate activity,"

"Thanks. Well, Clank, ready for a fight?" Ratchet looked over to his robot counter-part in the passenger seat.

Clank blinked his green little robot eyes, "As ready as you,"

Ratchet nodded, and steered Aphelion to the left. Luckily, they had been crusting in the area.

-O-

Ratchet hopped out of the cockpit, accompanied by Clank. Before him, fire raged, and pirates dashed about, chasing the citizens of the settlement. One particularly ugly robot was towering over visiting Kerchu, whom was cowering on the icy ground.

Ratchet pulled his combuster, and fired off a round at the robot. It grunted on impact, and turned it's head, giving a roar of anger, and charged. Ratchet dodged nimbly around the great hulking beast, managing to swipe at it with his wrench, causing it to stumble and fall. Ratchet walked over, and smashed it's ugly head, causing it to short out.

"It looks like they've got someone giving orders up there, they keep going to the same spot," Ratchet muttered under his breath, watching as several other pirates came up to a figure on what looked like hover boots, then whirr off again to cause more havoc.

Kicking his own hover boots on, Ratchet streaked down the main road, dodging pirates that swiped at him. When he was almost to the figure, he heard a robot yell, "Capin! You're bein' chased!" Without a look back, the figure sped away. Ratchet, being stubborn as he was, leaned forward, increasing his speed.

-O-

"Capin! You're bein' chased!" a crew member yelled.

Alya rolled her eyes and kicked her boots into high gear, giving a small growl as she heard her pursuer do the same. She began to weave around buildings, and jumping over wreckage, but it was no use, whoever was chasing her knew how to move.

Spying a large open spot, farther out on a floating platform of ice, Alya smirked, perfect. _"This ends now!" _she thought, shooting onto the platform, and turned her hover boots off, drawing her saber and spinning around to meet her pursuer.

-O-

Ratchet gasped slightly. It was another Lombax! It was somewhat shorter than he, but very strong looking, it's dark fur making it look more intimidating, and very female.

"Huh, thought you could catch me did you? Well, it is I who has done the catching. Now, tell me, why were you chasing me? And what are your intentions?" she asked in a brassy tone common to pirates, though she lacked the accent.

Ratchet blinked, "You were causing harm, I don't stand for that," he said.

"Ooh, a hero. Who might you be?" she said, starting to circle him.

"I'll keep that to myself," Ratchet said.

A small thump came from behind them as Clank landed on the platform.

"Hey, pal, you got here just in time," Ratchet looked over his shoulder.

"And what's this? A pet, or a slave?" the Lombax asked, continuing to circle, Ratchet countering it.

"A good friend," Ratchet flattened his ears.

"My, my, touchy, aren't we?" she asked.

"Are you going to shut up and fight, or what?" Ratchet snapped.

"Fine, if you're so eager to die, I'll fight," she sighed, and dropped into defensive posture, her saber ready.

-O-

The other Lombax charged at her with a wrench. Alya dodged him nimbly, nicking his right ear with a flick of the wrist. Ruby droplets spun through the air, landing on the icy ground, freezing on contact. Alya watched as he turned on his heel, then jumped up to him and swung her saber. He blocked with the wrench. For a brief moment, the two fought for balance, each trying to push the latter away.

Alya grunted at his strength as he pushed her back, her boots making tracks in the ice as she was forced away, then decided she had had enough. She stepped on his left foot, and surged forward against him, the other Lombax swayed and fell with a thump.

-O-

Ratchet made a harsh sound as all the air was driven from his lungs. When he tried to regain it, a foot pushed down on him, making it near impossible. He looked up with a grim face, the other Lombax had won.

"Ah, how sad it is you must die. I admit, you are the first of my own species I've seen in my life, but, no matter, you are of no use to me, well, you could always be a slave, but most try to impale themselves on my blade when I suggest it. It fits, who in the many solar systems doesn't quiver at the thought of being personal slave to Alya Shepard of the _Dragon Thorn_?" she said.

"Who?" Ratchet said in a raspy voice.

"What do you mean 'who'? You honestly don't know who I am?" the Lombax asked.

"No, I don't,"

She looked baffled, "Everyone knows who I am! I'm Alya Shepard! Most fearsome piratess in the galaxy! I make Captain Slag look like a nursemaid!" she exclaimed.

While Ratchet continued to play dumb, Clank was sneaking around Alya's backside. The little robot did a quick scan of the Lombax searching for a weak point, then struck the back of her knees with a hard fist.

-O-

"Ow!" Alya yelped as she fell, her head connecting with a sharp lump of ice.

The world swirled away into oblivion, leaving Alya floating in a dark black void.

"Shit," her voice echoed mockingly back.

-O-

Ratchet jumped up, and rolled the pirate over, securing her wrists.

"Clank?" Ratchet looked at his friend.

Clank dug around in his storage compartment until he found a spool of extra twisty, twisty wire, "Will this work?"

"Yeah," Ratchet said.

"Um, Ratchet? You do not need to hold her, it appears she is unconscious," Clank said.

"Oh," Ratchet said, letting go, and standing up.

Clank waddled over to Alya and tied her hands with the wire.

Ratchet grabbed the communicator badge on his shirt, and pressed the little button on the side, "Aphelion, do you read me?" he asked.

"I do, Ratchet," came the ship's voice.

"Can you hone in on the com signal? I have a bit of a captive," he said.

"Captive? Ratchet..."

"Aphelion, can you?" Ratchet was getting more impatient.

"Of course I can!" she sounded offended, "I'll be there shortly," she said, her line going out. **-O-** **A/N: ** **-Eh, there's the first chappie, *wince* I know, it sucked, but I promise, the fic gets a little better as it goes. Also, as I progress, expect a bit of a personality change from Alya, she's a bit bi-polar. Well, R&R, if you want, and tell me your opinion, and I will take, (gladly) constructive critisism, but no flaming, please.** **-Chapter in a nutshell: You meet a young Lombaxian woman, who just so happens to be a pirate, and she goes and attacks a settlement on Kreeli (god knows why) and Ratchet just so happens to be ridin' around in the area and drops by to say hi. Alya, the pirate, is schooled by Clank, and gets knocked out (too overused). Ratchet then offends Aphelion a little, and that's the end of the chapter.** **-Song? Don't have one for this chapter, sorry :/** **Have a nice day! And R&R (if you want, I'm really not that desperate... or am I? *twitches*)**


	2. The Dragon Thorn's Demise

**Eh, here's the new chapter. It is a little longer than the last ;).I don't believe I've explained that I don not believe in the fact that female Lombaxes don't have tails, I think someone screwed up somewhere, and did something they shouldn't have. But, I'm sure you didn't click on the story to hear me ranting ^^**

A wave of cold flashed over Alya, bringing her to the world of the living.

"She's not doing anything, try it again," a voice said.

There was the sound of a bucket being filled, then the that of it being tipped. Alya surged forward as the water splashed over her head.

"Knock it off, you bilge-brained rusty-stoned dog! Or I'll hang you from the mainmast by your wires for the whole crew to see!" she shouted, opening her eyes, and pinning back her ears in fury.

Instead of one of her crew, it was a Lombax, wait, no, _that Lombax._

"Who are you? Rank and name, now," Alya growled.

"I'm Ratchet," he said flatly.

"You didn't fully answer, you salty-dog,"

"Galactic defender," he scowled.

"Oh, you're a boy scout, cute," Alya sneered.

"Clank, give her another bucket, will you? She's irritating me," Ratchet said.

At first, Alya couldn't see what in the nether hells this 'Ratchet' was talking about, until she spotted a little gray stool moving... wait, that wasn't a stool, it was a robot!

"Honestly, Ratchet, if you douse her once more, her temperature will be below the normal level, and she would be at risk of catching something," the little metallic thing said, blinking it enormous green eyes.

"Hph, fine," Ratchet muttered.

"Soooo, now that you're done with that... what're you going to do with me?" Alya asked.

"At the moment? Nothing," Ratchet said.

"What? You-you have to do something!" Alya screeched, scrambling to her feet and charging Ratchet, only to slam against something. "Ow," she muttered, sliding down from the force field with a smearing sound.

"Auto-Cages sure come in handy," Ratchet smiled, waving his hand, a small remote hidden within.

"You can't hold me! I know my rights!" Alya spat, pressing up against the energy field.

"I know you do, I just can't let you go, you're a pirate," he said.

"No shit, Cap'n Obvious," Alya narrowed her eyes, "Can you tell me where in the nether hells we are at least?"

"Fastoon," Ratchet said shortly.

"Ooh, that place... Well, I will have you know, I don't do well in desert climates! My fur puffs up, and dries out, a horrible mess it is," she said.

"I bet,"

"Not too talkative, are you?" Alya observed.

"What was your first clue?" Ratchet said.

"I dunno, maybe it was the fact you've barely said anything, and you talk in short sentences," Alya smirked.

"You know, irritating me wont get you released," Ratchet said.

"Drat," Alya snapped her fingers, setting her jaw unhappily.

Ratchet rolled his eyes, and checked a slim watch on his wrist, "Oh boy, look at the time, I need to get going," he said, then turned away, and headed for a door located to the left of the room.

"What? No! Don't leave me!I don't want to be alone!" Alya pouted.

"Clank can keep you company, right, buddy?" Ratchet looked over his shoulder.

Clank, who had been following his friend, stopped in mid-step, and sighed, "I suppose," he said.

"Good. I'll be back later," Ratchet smiled, "And don't try to kill him," he said, looking at Alya.

"What are you looking at me for?" she snapped.

Ratchet snorted, and exited.

Alya grunted and plonked down on the floor, feeling miserable. She looked around at her environment for the first time. She was in a large hut-like building. It had high walls and ceilings, painted a rough brown, and light tan. In the center of the room was a simple green couch, a T.V set with a vid-comic station. If she strained her neck, she could see a hall, most likely leading to a bedroom and bathroom.

Then the unhappy Lombax looked at her cell. It was good sized, big enough for her to not feel claustrophobic. A cot stood in the corner, complete with blanket and pillow. Nothing to use as a weapon, much to her disappointment.

So, what did she do? Why, she sulked, her angry neon green eyes burning holes in the wee robot before her. She failed, and sighed, blowing her bangs out of her face.

"Well, this is a little awkward," she grumbled.

The robot, Clank, seemed to shrug, "It appears you brought it on yourself," he stated.

"Whatever... Say, where's Boy Scout goin'?" Alya asked.

"Probably to think on the days events, and to figure out as what to do with you,"

Alya frowned and laid her ears back a little, feeling the need to curl into a ball, "Eh, it appears I'm a bit wet..." she mumbled.

"Yes, it seems so," Clank said in an almost mocking tone.

"...so maybe there's something I can use to dry off with?"

If robots could frown... Clank blinked, and wandered down a hall without a word, and returned moments later with a thin towel. He opened his storage compartment, and pulled out a remote, he pushed a few buttons, and Alya could just see a part of the force field dropping. Clank stepped up to the gap. This was her chance. Steeling herself, Alya jumped at the robot.

"Wha-?" was all he could get out before Alya kicked him aside and dashed through the house. But he was out before he hit the ground.

Alya stopped and looked around wildly for her gear, then spotted it in a heap on the table. To her disgust, it appeared Ratchet had been tinkering with her hover boots and nav-unit. She checked both, and were relieved they still worked. She slapped them, and her sword on and fled.

-O-

Darkness found Alya trekking through the dessert, waiting for Flant to respond to her distress call. She was now feeling increasingly bitter, her small flask of foul rum was empty, and it was cold. The kind of cold that drives all hope from the soul, and chills to the bone, almost as if one could never be warm again. With a bad tempered huff, Alya sat hard in the sand.

After awhile, a light appeared in the night sky, soon gaining more mass until it turned into the transport shuttle for the _Dragon Thorn_. It landed with a puff of dust. The door opened, reveling Flant.

"Ah, Flant, my good first mate, it's about time you got here," Alya grinned, heaving to her feet.

"Cap'n, I am glad you commed me, the crew is getting a bit too rowdy for me to control, they thought you were dead, and threw a bit o' a party," he said.

"The scurvy dogs! And who started this party?" Alya growled as she stepped into the transport.

"Eh, it was Skeel, the second mate," Flant said distastefully.

"I shoulda known... I'll need to whack him in front the crew later," Alya said, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"I'll get a camera, then," Flant joked as the shuttle took off, "So, how'd you escape? What happened?"

"Well, you see, there was that fool Lombax that attacked me, I played dirty and pushed him down, but his little robot pet thing whacked me down, and hit me over the head, the little lump of rust. Then, I woke up in their lair, and they were tossing buckets of water all over me, and kicked me a few times, I tried to get at them, but they had put up some sorta force field thing. The Lombax left for some reason, and I fooled his robot to open my cage, and I ran for it," she said.

Flant nodded sympathetically

There was a jolt as the shuttle docked with the ship. The doors slid open, and Alya strode out. There were several gasps from her crew as she walked to the middle of the main deck, her frosty glare flowing over the robots and squishies.

"Where is Skeel?" she asked coldly.

A strange squishy beast stepped forward, his little antennae twitching.

"Ah, Skeel, my good second mate, how's life treatin' ye?" she asked.

"Eh, good, Cap'n, now that you're here it's even better," he said.

"Oh, really? I do believe you were throwing a party while you believed I was dead, now, I do hope this information is wrong," Alya said, picking at her nails.

"Um..."

"You know how much I hate liars, right?" Alya interrupted, "Oh, yes, and mutineers, especially them,"

"Cap'n, I-"

Alya snarled and drew her sword, "Wrong answer," and she ran him through splattering his greenish blood about. Skeel dropped like a rock, "Hang him on the main mast for all to see. It's just a warning about what happens to mutineers," she said to her crew, keeping her smug look.

Alya stalked to her cabin, Flant following close behind.

-O-

"Gee, Clank, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left you alone with her," Ratchet said as he tinkered with a few wires in the back of his friends head.

"Ratchet, it is fine, I am fine," Clank said.

"Yes, but-" he stopped in mid sentence, "I don't know what I expected to do with her though, I mean, she is a pirate,"

"True," Clank nodded.

"It's just, she's another Lombax! I mean, if there's her, and there was Alister, there could be more," Ratchet twitched an ear.

"Will you look for her?" Clank asked as his friend closed the hatch on his head.

"How? I mean, there's nothing I can trace her by, other than... wait, her gear, I bugged her gear!" Ratchet let a smile creep onto his face.

"You did?" Clank asked him sceptically.

"Well, yeah, I mean, I was sitting there looking at her boots and nav-unit, and got a little bored, then I decided it would be a good idea in case it got lost... or she ran off,"

"Then I suppose we have a pirate to track down,"

-O-

That night on the _Dragon Thorn _was a fun one. All it was was a party, and a very wild one at that. All the organic crew members were besotting themselves, while the robot half were shocking themselves, and electrocuting others. Fun, fun indeed.

Alya at the moment was feeling a little buzzed from the three glasses of wine she had had, and would have no more. She smiled and leaned back in her chair.

"Flant! Come 'ere," she called, her words a bit slurred.

The rusty little robot whirred to her from the door.

"In the morn, I'm plotting a course for Veldin, I haven't raided there in years," she drawled to her loyal robot.

"Veldin? Ah, yes, I remember that planet. Are we goin' t' blow stuff up, Cap'n?" Flant asked hopefully.

Alya peered down at her pyromaniac first mate, and cracked a smile, "Of course! Why, there's all sorts of stuff to blow up there! And on the way to destroying it, we can grab a few bolts, it appears my loot chest is runnin' a bit low,"

She watched as Flant vibrated with joy, then stood from her chair and looked down at him, "Nice to see you're happy. Anyways, I'm off to my bunk for the evening, good night," she said, "Oh, and Flant? Could you be a good first mate and watch the decks for me? I have a feeling someone might want me dead,"

"Yes, Cap'n," Flant said.

Alya nodded at him and wandered into her bunkroom for a night of well deserved rest.

-O-

As Ratchet brought Aphelion around, his mouth dropped a little in awe as he stared at the huge ship, "...whoa,"

Clank also looked rather fascinated, "Seems like someone was visiting Sol-Earth a while ago," he commented.

"Huh?"

"Sol-Earth. It's a dead planet, the inhabitants were extremely underdeveloped and destroyed the planet, and the species died off. But, they did have good designs for weapons, ships as well. It seems our pirate friend has converted a water ship into a space one," the little robot looked rather impressed.

"Oh... hey, look at that!" Ratchet pointed out to the left of the hulking ship, "Oh, that's a really big ship, with really big guns," he said, his ears wilted slightly.

Indeed, it was a really big ship. As it came in, Ratchet could see turrets, missile launchers, cannons, tethers... a lot of guns. The ship came closer to the pirate vessel, which was now dwarfed by it's mass, and rammed into it.

-O-

Alya was awoken when her bunk fell over. It toppled, taking her with it, and crashed to the floor. She peeled herself from the wreckage, and got to her feet. Her large ears could pick up the sounds of her crew panicking, which was bad. Really bad.

"What in the seven hells...?" she growled as she rummaged about for her clothes and other gear.

After strapping everything on, she dashed out of her cabin and onto the main deck. It was mayhem.

Half of the deck was shattered into pieces by the hull of the massive ship, scattering them all over. Her crew were all running about like headless cows, yelling and being the dolts they were. The noise was torture for her ears.

"ATTEN' SHUN!" she yelled.

It had an immediate effect on the crew. They all stopped and looked at her.

"FLANT! GET OVER HERE!"

The rusted robot whirred to her.

"Report,"

"Eh, Cap'n it appears we have been engaged, by that huge ship," he said.

Alya spun on her heel and looked it over, then turned back, "Ah, yes, I see the ship, salt for brains, but who does it belong to?"

"Oh, dearest sister, has it really been so long, that you do not recognize your own brother's vessel?" a voice, dripping with sarcasm came from behind her.

In an instant, Alya drew her saber, and swung it about, clipping the whiskers off the owner of the voice.

"Chasm, what are you doing?" she nearly screeched.

The older Lombax looked at her with disdain, "Why, returning the favor, little sister," he drawled, pawing at his own sword.

"Favor? You wrecked my boat! My beautiful boat!" she growled, "No one messes with my boat, and you know that, big brother,"

"Heh, right, like I care... Now, hand over my crew," he said, his sapphire eyes gleaming.

"_Your _crew?" Alya spat, "No, no, no, it seems you have mixed up what's yours and what's mine,"

"No, I haven't this is my crew by right, you know the deal,"

"Well, then, Chasm, you're gonna have to fight for it, because you're not getting' my crew," Alya laid her ears back.

"Hmph, so be it," Chasm snorted in amusement, and drew his saber, "Attack," he said.

The older Lombax's crew washed over the decks of his ship, landing on the timbers of Alya's with muffed thumps, their swords ready.

"Crew of the _Dragon Thorn_! Attack! Extra rations or batteries to the one who brings me my brother's hide!" Alya yelled.

There was a loud cheer, and the two crews collided.

-O-

Ratchet watched as the pirates washed aboard the smaller ship, and fighting break out.

"Ratchet, should we help them?" Clank asked.

"Eh, this really doesn't look like my kinda squabble, buddy," Ratchet mumbled.

The windshield suddenly lit up with bright light. Ratchet squinted, and when the brightness receded, he gasped. The ship was nothing more than smithereens.

-O-

Alya and Chasm were locked in a battle over strength, their swords pushed against each other as they both fought for the upper hand. Blood dripped from the corner of her eye, blinding her slightly.

"Heh, you're weak, sister, you can't even best me in battle," Chasm sneered.

"Oh? I think I've done good enough to get this far, brother dearest," Alya grunted.

Chasm cocked his head, and surged forward, pushing his sister to the ground, "Hate to kill and run, sis, but it sounds like the cannon is being fired, so, toodles,"

The black and red Lombax jumped away and, with the help of his hover boots, flew up to his ship. He smirked, and waved. Alya growled, and slowly raised her hand to give her brother the single finger salute.

The light coming from the larger ship was blinding as the laser tore through the ship, catching the timbers on fire, as well as the bodies of her dead crew. Alya stood, and sheathed her sword. She stood brave, and excepted her fate, and the only regret she felt was that she couldn't kill Chasm.

"Cap'n!"

She looked up, and could see Flant trying to jump overboard to her from Chasm's ship. She shook her head. Flant looked heartbroken. Alya closed her eyes as the laser reached her area.

She suddenly had an urge to live, and jumped away, and over the edge of her ship. She would _not _give her brother the satisfaction of seeing her burn alive. The only downside to jumping, was that she was in space. And it was really cold, and it was a vacuum, and there was no air.

**-O-**

**A/N:**

**-Well, if you've made it this far, congrats, your eyes didn't liquify in their sockets.**

**-Chapter in a nutshell:Our favorite pirate woke up at Ratchet's home on Fastoon, and went and schooled Clank back, and ran off. She was picked up by her first mate, Flant, and went back to her ship, the _Dragon Thorn_, and she proceeded to kill some random alien for mutiny. Later on that night, her older brother, Chasm, came and blew her ship up. End chapter.**

**-R&R, if you want, and I'll post the next chappie later, maybe tomorrow. Have a nice day!**


	3. Off to Luna

** Well... I'm actually surprised by a few of my lovely reviews I've gotten of late, I really didn't think this fic was any good. Funny thing is, I haven't played the R&C games in two or so years. I did happen to play A4O a month or so ago, but I thought the concept was a little cruddy plot wise... **

**Anywho, enough of my thoughts, here's yet another pre-written chapter! **

**Fast shoutout:**

_**Ratchet Thunderfire **_

_**STAR-KID-AWESOME**_

_**Aslef101 () **_

**Thankies for the reviews!**

-O-

Pieces of the ship drifted past Aphelion as Ratchet steered her forward through the wreckage. Bodies floated here and there, some blown to little pieces, others were scorched to a crisp. It was slightly traumatizing, even for him.

"Ratchet, look!" Clank exclaimed, breaking the Lombax from his reverie.

He followed his friend's gaze, and spotted a purple and blue body floating towards his ship. It's eyes were open, and it was twitching. It took Ratchet a moment to figure out what it was, then he kicked himself into gear. He slowed Aphelion, and jumped from his seat.

"Ratchet...?" Clank looked at him.

"She's still alive, Clank, I can't leave her," Ratchet said as he yanked on a helmet.

The Lombax clipped a tether to his belt and opened a hatch. Cabin pressure dropped. Ratchet climbed out and clung to his ship, inching along like a worm until he could see the pirate. Her eyelids were drifting closed. Ratchet growled and launched himself at her.

-O-

Alya was jolted as the Lombax hit her, wrapping his arm around her waist. She watched through foggy eyes as he tugged on his tether. They were pulled back to the ship. Right when the hatch closed, she allowed her eyes to shut.

-O-

Clank went into action, slapping nano-tech onto any exposed wounds, and checking her vital signs. Ratchet sat off to the side, twiddling his thumbs. When the robot finished his scanning, he addressed Ratchet.

"It looks as if she will live," he reported.

"Good, that means we can go home," Ratchet said as he buckled into his seat.

-O-

Alya's mind was plagued with nightmares. Of her crew being slaughtered. She and her brother as children. Of her ship. Old memories of old battles with him... he had been such a good brother... what had happened?

Her head throbbed painfully as she dreamed. It was unbearable at first, but it eventually dulled.

Every now and then, her eyes would flit open, giving her a blurry look at her surroundings, then they would close again. She was not ready to wake yet.

-O-

How much time that had passed, Alya did not know, but it was time to live again. She opened her eyes slowly, and winced at the amount of light that filtered through. After a few moments of squinting, her eyes adjusted to the light and she opened them fully.

She was back on Fastoon. In the Lombax's house. On a couch. She tried to sit up, only to fall back when a wave of pain washed over her skull. She groaned.

-O-

Ratchet heard the pirate move, and he watched her. She fell back, holding her head. He found himself chuckling slightly at her.

The Lombax's fierce neon green eyes flickered over to him, and glared.

"Good to see you're awake," he said, not moving from his chair.

"I thought it was time to live. Besides, I'm not done terrorizing this universe," she said, then she narrowed her eyes, "Why am I even alive?" she growled.

"I followed you, and I got there when you were attacked,"

"Oh, and you just sat there while me and my crew were torn apart, eh?" she snarled.

"It wasn't my fight. Anyways, I came up after the laser ripped your ship apart, and saw you floating around, and I thought to myself 'Hey, let's save the crazy pirate, even though she assaulted you and your friend, just because you're a nice person,'"

"Riiight. What do you want from me?" she snapped.

"Nothing, I was just being nice, doing you a favor," Ratchet raised his hands in defense.

"And by you doing me a favor, I have to repay it," she argued.

"Fine, do me a favor, remind me, who are you?" Ratchet had forgotten her name.

"Alya Shepard," she grunted.

"Okay, and one more thing, who attacked you?"

"Someone who should have stayed away, and now needs to be killed,"

By the dangerous gleam in her eyes, Ratchet decided not to press any further.

-O-

The days passed slowly for Alya. She was always feeling angry, and sad all the same. Her crew and ship were gone, her best friend and the only parent she had known was gone. And worst of all, her brother had returned from the dead, and had done all this. He would _pay_.

The day Clank gave her the okay to move around, she was up and plotting. Thinking of ways to kill Chasm. She didn't really talk much with Ratchet, or the little robot, just a few fast words, most of them bitter and angry. But there was always the weird look of sympathy from the Lombax...

Alya was pacing, her mind a flurry of activity as she thought. The only way to find Chasm would be to locate his old crew members, the ones he cast aside when they could no longer work. And the only place they would be was where he dumped them, which would be on a moon... no, a comet? No, a moon. Yes...

She stopped in mid-pace when she felt eyes watching her.

"Yes, Ratchet?" she asked.

"Will you need help?" he asked simply.

"If you want to put your life on the line, sure," she said, then paused, "Why?"

"I thought you might need help. I have a bit of a reputation for going on random quests and ridding the universe of evil," he said, crossing his arms.

"You do understand that you could die, right?"

"Yeah, that's old news," Ratchet smirked.

"Or captured and tortured for secrets," she added.

"Yes, I understand that,"

"Al'ight, then we can leave tomorrow," Alya said, "I hope that's not too short of notice,"

"Not at all,"

-O-

Later that night, Alya had the urge to take a walk. Ratchet had mentioned something about a storm coming, but she waved it off and rushed out the door.

She walked through the desert-like area as the sun set, casting gold shadows on her purple fur. She was out of the city, wandering along a dune, watching as dark clouds rolled in, and the wind picking up. Alya sighed and began to walk back.

Her mind was in turmoil now, thinking of all that had happened. The one thing that hit her hardest was that Flant was gone, and with Chasm. The silly little rust bucket had cared for her after being brought on board the _Dragon Thorn _as a cub, yes, he had cared for both she and her brother.

Chasm... what _had _gone wrong? He had been such a good kid. When she had killed the previous captain of her ship, and become captain herself, he had been right next to her, the two had been inseparable...

...until he betrayed her. It had been a normal night, they had just plundered some colony. He had freaked out and tried to kill her. But she had run him through with her saber, Pearlthorn, and tossed him out the airlock. And here he was, alive and back to kill her.

God, her life was shitty. She hated her life. She wished those slavers hadn't ripped a hole into their dimension, and taken her and Chasm away. They would still be with the rest of the Lombaxes, and in some local militia. But it seemed fate decided to play a cruel joke on her.

Alya stared up at the dark clouds, feeling rather miserable, then to her astonishment, felt a small tear slide down her cheek. What was this? The great, Alya Shepard has a heart? Yes, she did. Another tear came, streaking down her fur.

Rain began to fall from the sky, purple and blue lighting webbed across the darkness, lighting up her form as the water plastered her fur to her body. How fitting the weather was.

Cursing herself for being out so late, Alya began to sprint back to the shelter of the city.

-O-

Ratchet found himself staring out the window, watching as the lone figure of Alya jogged into sight. She rushed onto the porch, and shook herself like a dog, making him chuckle slightly. Apparently, the pirate heard him through the glass, and glared at him before pushing the door open, still dripping.

"Alright, I've got a different idea. We leave now," she growled.

"Okay, that's cool wi- wait, what?" Ratchet was thrown off guard.

"We, are, leaving, _now_," she repeated.

"We can't go, not in this weather, if we get hit by lightning-"

"Shut it, Boy scout, I don't care, after I find something else to wear, I'm leaving, and if you don't want to, tough,"

Ratchet was about to reply, when she held a hand up and glared, "And if you try to argue, so help me God..."

-O-

Alya really just sat there for an hour or so, waiting for her clothes to air dry. She spent this time messing around with a data pad she had gotten (coughplunderedcough) a while back, researching a moon, the one called Luna, which just so happened to orbit Sol-Earth, the very planet she got her ship designs from. And she had a hunch, yes a hunch...

"So, do you even know where we're going?" Ratchet asked from the couch.

"Yeah, this moon thing... I think it's where my bro-eh, hrmm," she coughed a little as she cut off, "It's where my nemesis dumps his crew members when they can't work. Er, at least I think it's where he does,"

Ratchet gave her a funny look, then frowned, "He just throws them there?"

"Yep, when you're a pirate, and you can't work any longer, your captain either scraps your sorry ass, or tosses you on a planet of some sort. From what I've read, Luna, the moon, has no air at all, so we won't be meeting any organics, only robots," Alya said.

"Oh... have you ever-?" Ratchet raised a bushy eyebrow.

"What? Dumped part of my crew? Well... eh, I might have, but I put 'em on a nice little planet with good weather and air to breathe, so it was all good. At least I didn't kill them like most do," she shrugged.

Ratchet seemed a little disturbed, "I guess I learn something new everyday... Are we going now?"

"You ask a lot of questions," she stated flatly, "Yeah, sure, let's go,"

-O-

It was a long trip to the Sol-Earth moon, a really long trip. Ratchet was thankful he installed the warp drive only a few weeks earlier. Every now and then, he would look over at Alya.

She looked rather gloomy, her ears laid back, a small frown on her face, her negativity was literally shedding from her in waves, it was starting to make Ratchet feel unhappy. Maybe it was high time to spread some light on his not so compatible companion.

"So," he began.

Alya started at the sudden noise amongst the heavy silence. She looked over at him, her neon eyes flickering, "So what?"

"I'm a little curious,"

"Oh boy, there's the problem, right there," she smirked.

"How did you manage to become the captain of a pirate ship?"

"That's it? Heh, well, I killed the last captain, and took over," she said simply.

Ratchet frowned, he was expecting a little more detail, "And his crew just let you?"

"Well, by the Code, they had to, but a few were a little rebellious. Nothing a blade between the ribs, or a few snipped wires can fix," she shrugged.

"Ah..."

There was a small stretch of silence before Alya broke it, "And how about you? How'd you come across this fine little cruiser?" she asked, motioning around the ship.

"I found her on Fastoon, she was a little banged up, but I fixed her," Ratchet replied.

"You say 'her' as if it was a living object," Alya stated.

"Hey!" Aphelion interjected.

"Wha-?" Alya looked rather surprised, and Ratchet had to chuckle.

"I am inserted with an A.I core," the ship grumped.

Ratchet smiled and patted the dashboard, "I think you hurt her feelings," he said.

"O-kay then... eh, sorry?" Alya said.

"I accept your apology," Aphelion said grudgingly.

**-O-**

**A/N:**

**-OMFG, yay for Nos energy drinks! XD A little hyper right now, but it does good for the writing process :) And, A.I core...? meh, it's been forever since I played the Future series, and I've forgotten a lot, so, if I happen to screw up...**

**-Chapter in a nutshell: Well, Ratchet does save Alya after her ship is ripped to wee pieces, and brings her back to his place on Fastoon (now, why Fastoon? Why not Veldin? Meh,) Alya gives him the, I-am-a-little-unsure-of-you-so-I'm-going-to-act-badass-for-a-little-while treatment, then she has a small meltdown, (a little odd...) and has made the decision to go to Sol-Earth's moon, Luna, to find the crew members Chasm had dumped there over time. On the trip over (reeeeaaaaallllly long trip) she manages to offend Aphelion. End Chapter.**

**-You should know the drill by now, R&R, it makes the chapters come faster, and keeps the author happy :P**


	4. SolEarth's Moon, It's a Little Dusty

**I kinda hate this chapter, but I like it, I dunno, I might go back and edit it. Be prepared to be blasted by Mary-Sueiness next chapter.**

**-O-**

The only moon of Sol-Earth was certainly an average moon. No gravity or oxygen, and covered in craters. Utterly boring.

Alya kicked at the white dust as she stared at the flag before her. It was rather fascinating; red and white stripes covered it, while in the upper left corner was a square of blue, and if she counted correctly, she could see fifty little white stars. All around the flag were footprints, old ones at that.

"What do you think that's from?" Ratchet asked from beside her, the comm in his helmet muffling his question.

"Mmm, I think this is the flag of one of the nations down on Sol-Earth, I learned quite a bit of their language too... I think this is the American flag, not sure though. This one was placed here by the first person to land here. Sad thing is, is that this was as far as they got into the whole space thing, shut down their stations, and sent out a few probes to the little red thing over there," she pointed over to Sol-Mars, "But that's it, they never were advanced enough to make it in the big leagues, never even had any real aliens visit either," she scoffed.

"I didn't think of you as a history kind of person," Ratchet commented.

"Eh, when I came down here for the blueprints for the _Dragon Thorn_, I came across two little people, after I got my translator thing working, they began to tell me all this weird stuff about Sol-Earth, apparently, they had an apocalypse a while back, some sort of zombie thing,"

"Huh, Clank actually told me it was a dead planet," Ratchet looked surprised.

"Well, it doesn't have any native intelligent life forms, well, I guess there are a few colonies scattered about, but it has forests and animals to go with them," she shrugged her shoulders.

Ratchet seemed a little fascinated by it all, and almost looked asked her more about the little planet, when Alya began walking at the fastest pace could manage, and jumped into the air. She reveled in the weightlessness she felt.

"What are you doing?" Ratchet called after her.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Alya called back.

Ratchet snorted and leaped after her, doing several slow flips. When he landed, he looked as if he had a clever idea...

The golden tan Lombax darted forward and touched her elbow, "You're it!" he cried, before bounding away.

Alya stood still, watching as he did so, feeling confused. When Ratchet realized she wasn't doing anything, and wandered back.

"You don't know how to play tag, do you?" he asked.

"No. When you grow up on a pirate ship, you're more concerned with day to day life than games," Alya stated, frowning when her cheeks warmed up a little. Gah! She was getting soft already!

"Oh, I can see that. Well, tag is when you tap some one, tell them they're it, and run away, then you try to catch them, and after you catch them, the same thing happens," he explained a little fast.

Alya digested the information quickly, and nodded at him, then grinned, "Like this? You're it!" she said, then jumped away.

"Hey!" Ratchet exclaimed, "That's cheating!"

"Nuh, uh! I'm just taking advantage of the moment!" Alya snorted. _What are you doing!_she yelled in her mind.

Ratchet propelled himself after her with his hover boots, and their chase began. Alya jumped and slid into a crater, and popped out the other side, covered in white dust.

"Really? Really?" she grumbled, pausing from the game for the moment.

This was her mistake. Ratchet had been close on her tail, and collided with her with a triumphant "Ha!" They tumbled through the air... or the lack of it, and landed, a small poof of fine silty dust. When the white clouds cleared, Alya found herself nose to nose, (almost, due to the helmets they were both wearing), with Ratchet. Even more to her embarrassment, he was on top of her, pinning her arms down. The tip of her tail twitched, unsure of what to do now.

"Uuh," he mumbled, "hi,"

"Excuse me, but you two buffoons have exactly five seconds to shift yore sorry tails 'fore I blows you to bits!"

Alya was up and pushing Ratchet away in the blink of an eye, her saber drawn... well, it was a little slow. Ratchet himself stumbled to his feet, already reaching for his combuster.

Before them was a small green robot, and he was holding the latest, and greatest, R.Y.N.O 5.

Alya was actually glad the little thing had shown up, for it would have been a little awkward to sit there in the dust for a few minutes. She squinted at the robot, and smiled.

"Heh, chop me ears off'n call me a Kurchu!" she exclaimed, shifting back into her pirate lingo, "it's me ole messmate, Jorgon!"

The robot scowled at her, and then, it was replaced with a look of wonder, "Alya? Little Ayla Shepard? Blimey, girl, you shore know how to pop up at weird times," he laughed, lowering his R.Y.N.O and raising a rusty arm in welcome, "Say, you haven't seen your traitorous bro-"

"Achoo!" Alya interrupted.

"Bless ye," Jorgon said.

"Thanks,"

"So, what brings you and your companion out here to Luna?"

"Oh, well, I'm trying to find a certain person who shoulda stayed dead, and Chuckles here just came along for the ride," Alya said, waving her hand in a causal way.

"Chuckles?" Ratchet asked, only to be silenced by a foot kicking him, "Ow!"

"Shut yer trap, dirt for brains!" Alya growled out the side of her mouth, "Eheh, it appears Chuck here is feeling a bit off today. 'es got bi-polar personalities," she explained.

"Ah, I feel bad for ye, Chuckles," Jorgon laughed.

"Yes, yes, now that that's done and plundered, could you take us to your base? I know you besotted fools mustv'e built one by now," Alya smile, walking up to put an arm around the robot.

"Yep, me an' Boggs got t'gether and put up a nice little shack. We had Felrin for a bit, until his air tank ran out," if robots could snort...

-O-

The little moon base was really just the remains of an old space station that had crashed into the satellite. On the inside, it was large, and it had to be to account for the nearly one thousand robots it held. Alya was surprised her brother had gone through so many of his crew.

She sighed and leaned against the wall, and tuned back into the conversation she and Jorgon were having.

"... no one came outta that 'un lookin' too pretty," he was saying, "Even Chasm was a bit rough himself... speakin' o' which, you sneezed when I mentioned him, what's up?" the little green robot crossed his arms.

"Well, I don't want Boy Scout over there knowin' I gots a brother," she replied.

"Do y' plan on tellin' the lad ever?"

"Not unless I have to," Alya shook her head, and made a chopping motion with her hand.

"Whate'er floats yer boat. I take it Chuckles isn't his name?" Jorgon said.

Alya looked over her shoulder at Ratchet. He was sitting in the corner looking rather shady, a small scowl on his face, "No, but, you know how it is, Jor, can't use yore real name around pirates, especially 'round pirates,"

"Good point, hmm, Flant taught you well. How is Flant? I haven't seen 'im since Chasm halved the crews and went nutso,"

"My scoundrel brother took 'im when he blew up the _Dragon Thorn_," Alya grumbled.

Jorgon bobbed his head in a nod, "So, I assume you aren't jus' here to exchange news of th' outside world," he said, pushing away from the wall.

"I want to know where Chasm's base is,"

"Well, you shore don't beat 'round the bush, do ye? I don't know where his spider hole is, but I've heard 'e's bin runnin' some sort o' smugglin' thing down by Metropolis, rare minerals an' such," Jorgon seemed to roll his stalk eyes.

"Metropolis... sounds like I've got a bit of work on my hands," Alya muttered, "Well, thanks for the info, Jorgon, I'll see you around," she said, standing up strait and beginning to walk away.

"What? You're just gonna leave us here? You can't do that!" Jorgon cried after her.

"And why not? I mean, it's not like I can tote you around with me," Alya said.

"No, absolutely not!" Jorgon growled, his robotic hand reaching for his R.Y.N.O.

Pop-pop-pop, pop-pop!

Jorgon stared at her dumbly, and fell back, five holes in his hard drive.

"Sorry, old chum, I was goin' to let ye live, but, I'm afraid I've changed my mind," Alya said coldly, putting the small hand gun she had pick pocketed from the robot in her belt, "Ratchet, we're leaving,"

-O-

When they arrived back at Fastoon, Alya had immediately went to work with her data pad, looking up she could on the smugglings of the 'person who shouldv'e stayed dead.' Clank had been glad they had made it back, for he had been left behind. Ratchet himself had just plopped down on the couch and loaded one of his recon games and started blasting through the levels.

Kill after kill, Ratchet found himself getting tense, occasionally images from past missions of his flashed through his head. He aimed, and fired, an armed soldier dropped like a stone. He aimed again, and-

"Argh!" he jumped at the angry growl from Alya. He looked back at the furious Lombax.

He managed to look right when she threw her data pad on the ground, smashing it with her boot.

"Stupid piece of sh-" Alya growled.

"What's wrong now?" Ratchet asked rather lazily, throwing an arm over the back of the couch.

Instantly, Alya turned her gaze to him, and shifted it to the ceiling, "Uhm, nothing, just, um..."

Ratchet waved his hand in a small circle, prompting her to continue.

"Wellllll, I was checking a little something with me data pad thing... or what was my data pad, and, eh, while I was looking around on the more shady part of the internet, some bozo managed to get past my firewalls, the bozo being a minion of that one person that needed to stay dead, aaaand, well-" it clicked in Ratchet's head before she finished.

"You mean they know where we are?" he deadpanned.

"Yes. And, that means we gotta fly the coop," Alya's ears drooped at an odd angle.

Ratchet scowled, and pinched the bridge of his nose, at first, he wanted to be angry, but now... now he knew there was no point, "Alright, I'll get my stuff together," he grumbled.

"I know, I know, I was being- wait, you're not scolding me," the Lombax woman did a small double take.

"No, there's no point, what's done is done, there's nothing I can do about it," he sighed, pushing away from the couch, "Just gimme a minute,"

After a few moments of, 'do I really need this?No... but I really want to keep it... no, I can't' he was ready. He found Clank in the garage chatting with Aphelion, and gave him a low down on the situation, and the little robot went to gather his few things, like the banana gun...

Ratchet now looked over his shoulder, taking one last fleeting look at his tiny hut as they flew out.

-O-

Alya sat grim as Clank lectured her on keeping things updated.

"... and furthermore, you have cost us our home," he finished.

"I know, and I already feel bad for it. When this is over, I'll make it up to you guys," Alya tried to sink into her seat a little more, wishing it would swallow her.

This statement seemed to interest Ratchet, and he glanced over at her, "Speaking of which, where'll you be going off to?"

"Me? Eh, I dunno, might take up the role of a pirate again," this earned her a scowl, "What? I've been one my whole life, Ratch, what else am I supposed to be? It's all I know," she defended.

Ratchet seemed to squirm a little in his seat when she called him 'Ratch,' but she ignored it.

"So, to Metropolis, then?" he said, changing the subject.

"Yes, it appears to be my best lead so far," the pirate nodded.

"What'll we be doing exactly?"

"My plan is to infiltrate the smuggling group, and hang around with 'em for a while, earn their trust, and when they go to drop stuff off at my nemesis base, I'll be going with them," she explained.

"What about me and Clank?"

"What about you?" Alya raised a brow.

"What are we supposed to do while you're off playing smuggler?" Ratchet rolled his eyes slightly.

"Oh. I, uh, didn't really think that far..." Alya scrunched up half her face in a bizarre grimace.

"Of course you didn't," Ratchet muttered, turning his attention to the wide expanse of space.

"And what's that supposed to mean? I do just so happen to think through most of my plans," Alya growled.

"It's not supposed to mean anything! It's just-"

"Ach, never mind, I don't care what you do," Alya huffed bad temperately.

"Okay. I'll be coming with you then, I need a bit of excitement. Clank, buddy?" Ratchet looked over his shoulder to the back seat of the cruiser.

"I am with you, as always," Clank said.

It was then, that the fate of the trio was determined.

**-O-**

**A/N: Ooh, wow, I feel so fancy using the fate thing :3 I am still finding I love/hate this chapter... meh.**

**-Chapter in a nutshell: Alya and Ratchet go to Sol-Earth's moon, Luna, and leave Clank behind on Fastoon. They chit chat about the American flag for a moment, then they just have to play tag for a few seconds just because it adds all sorts of silly things to this worthless fic, then there is slight embarrassment, yada yada. Then some weird robot shows up, and Alya is all buddy with him, and he give her some intell on where Chasm might be, then he tries to come along with our merry group, and Alya shoots him. When they get back to Fastoon, Alya accidentally leads other pirate-y people to their hideout, and they flee. End Chapter.**

**-R&R, plehz, it makes me happy ^^ not that I'm begging or anything, it's just a reminder...**


	5. Metropolis Is Full of Cops

** What's this? An uber short, and promised Mary-Sue chapter? Yep. I'm actually changing this to Sci-fi, I think it'll fit in better... But, Alya gets to do a badass trick, and she has a little voice in her head now! Yay for voices.**

**Remember, licking doorknobs in other countries is illegal. **

**-O-**

Alya was slightly amazed how there could be such a bright place in a sea of darkness. True, she had been to Metropolis a few times for her own reasons, but it seemed that every time, it got brighter...

"Miss Alya, I do hope that you know that if you are to stare at a light for a long period of time, you can lose your sight," Clank's voice almost literally chimed through her thoughts.

Alya blinked rapidly, and turned away from the huge spotlights, purple and black spots dancing in her sight, "Yeah, I know," she said, "I just... really haven't been in society for a few years,"

Clank blinked his huge eyes and turned away from her to follow Ratchet, Alya in tow.

"You know, I don't know why you're leading if this is my mission," she commented.

Ratchet shrugged and dropped back a little, "Alright, then, lead," his voice almost had a sneer to it... what was his problem?

Alya eyed him for a moment, and did as she was bidden, stalking ahead and ignoring the constant stares from the many bystanders. To her annoyance, she could hear hushed whispers from many.

"...that pirate!"

"Uh-huh. How dare she... after... murderer!"

"...that Ratchet? Galactic defender?...she doing... him?"

Alya flattened her ears against her skull and continued to walk forward, her eyes narrowing with every little word she could hear. She growled slightly when she heard Ratchet catch up to her.

"They know you?" he asked.

"Wellll, I did have a raid her a while back, you probably didn't hear about it. My crew and I decided it would be a little fun to try and take the main bank here... we failed. Horribly. After we killed a fair number of their police, I was captured. They kept me in their prison for a year or so, torturing me on and off. Then my first mate managed to break me out... and there might have been a few innocents harmed along the way..." she grumbled.

"What?" Ratchet hissed at her.

"Listen, it wasn't me! It was my crew, the idiots did it, not me! Hell, I wasn't even conscious at the time!" she growled back, "And-"

"Stop right there, pirate,"

Alya pulled up, and gazed at the police-bot towering over her, and found herself looking into the barrel of a pulse rifle. She smiled sheepishly, and pushed the gun away with a finger.

"Oh, hia!" she said in a sweet voice, "Is that you, Frank? Long time no see, huh?"

The bot scowled at her dangerously, "That's not working on me this time, pirate," he droned.

"Alya..." Ratchet tapped her on the shoulder.

"What?" she hissed, looking over her shoulder.

In an instant, the politesse's ear wilted. They were surrounded with armed bots, "...oh."

"Heh, you see, after your little attack, everyone's been on high alert. The moment you were spotted, we were notified. And now, you are under arrest," the bot seemed to laugh.

"Do you have a plan? Please tell me you have a plan," Ratchet said behind her.

"Well, it will evolve decapitation,"

"Shut it! You are under arrest!" the bot barked at them.

Alya looked over her shoulder at Ratchet, arching an eyebrow in a suggestive manner. He scowled, and nodded, "Hmm, it seems we will not be coming with you, Fred," she said, pulling her saber from it's sheath at her hip.

"Wut-?"

Before the robot got any farther, Alya was upon him, her sword nothing more than a silver flash as it separated the wires in his neck. In an instant, the normally peaceful street was a battle zone.

-O-

Ratchet bashed in the head of another bot, and swung his wrench back, catching another in it's legs. The robot fell, and Ratchet crushed it's head with his boot. Unbeknownst to him, another cop-bot was sneaking up on him. It stepped on something, and Ratchet whirled, his teeth bared. He stared at the barrel of the combuster, and growled.

"Hehe, end of the line," the bot chuckled.

Ratchet flattened his ears, and hissed like a feral animal. The bot tightened it's finger on the trigger...

...and flew backwards. Ratchet watched with keen interest as it was compacted into a small cube and lifted into the air and was launched at another robot. The mechanic watched as the cube shot through the air and punctured the head of the bot.

"What in the hell..." his gaze fell on Alya, and he cocked his head to the side, "Alya?"

The Lombax pirate was... glowing? Her eyes had turned from their normal neon green to a dark black. He could see tendrils of silvery smoke drifting from them, as well as her hands. A crazy smile was plastered on her face as she raised a gloved hand. A cop-bot rose into the air, and flailed it's arms as it was crushed by some unknown force, and tossed away.

-O-

_"This is cool!" _Alya thought as she smashed another robot.

_"Yes, cool indeed," _a rather bored sounding voice echoed in the back of her head.

Alya stopped in mid crush, and cocked her head to the side, _"Great, I must be going crazy, I knew this glowy thing was too good to be true," _

_"Heh, no, you're not going crazy, little dove- not yet, at least," _the voice returned.

Alya saw a bot approach her out of the corner of her eye, and with a flick of her hand, it was shoved back, _"Um... okay... mind telling me what this,"_ she motioned vaguely at the smoke coming from her hand, _"is?"_

_ "It's just your biotics, dove. It seems you've matured a little slow," _

_"'Just'?"_

_ "Never mind. You'll learn more later, dove, I'll contact you at a later time, right now's not the best..." _the voice said, fading in the back of her head.

Before Alya could try and speak to it again, another bot came at her. She crushed it.

-O-

Ratchet smashed the head of another cop-bot. A loud siren was blaring somewhere. It was calling all other law enforcements to the area. They needed to leave. Now.

He dodged away from a bot, and dashed over to Alya, where she was flinging a robot about. By the time he got to her, however, they were once again surrounded by police.

"Put your weapons down, and hold your hands were we can see them!" one of the front cops yelled.

Ratchet could see Alya smirk, and she raised her hands in front of her, "If that's what you want," she shrugged, then opened her palms, and closed them. Several bots went down.

A few of the cops stepped back, but the commander held his ground, "Stand down!" he growled. When Alya crushed another robot, he sighed, "Troops! Fire at will!"

"Who's Will? And why're we shootin' at him?" someone yelled from the back.

Ratchet swallowed a chuckle.

The police-bots charged forward. Ratchet looked over at Alya, who's face was a picture of concentration. When the wave of metallic cops were only mere feet away, a gray-ish shield was formed around the two Lombaxes and tiny robot. It forced outwards, and pushed the police away, hurling them through the air.

-O-

Alya let the barrier travel, feeling robots smash against it. She smiled, even though she had no clue as to what was going on.

When the shield dropped, Alya looked over the pure destruction she had caused. Glass, chunks of metal, robot cubes, and the bodies, and parts, of cop-bots littered the ground. Spotlights and streetlamps had fallen over, shattering on impact. Several windows of nearby shops were smashed.

The pirate nodded her head, and managed a weak flick of her tail, before an electrical pulse shot through her body.

-O-

Ratchet saw her fall, and was jerked from his awe at the damage done.

"Alya?" he called.

No answer.

"Hey, you alright?" he jogged over to the fallen pirate. He withdrew slightly when he saw her body convulsing on the ground, "What in the-? Clank! What's going on with her?" Ratchet got down on his knees while the tiny robot scanned her.

"It appears she is being electrocuted," he said.

"By what?"

"I do not know," Clank admitted.

"Then what do we-"

Alya suddenly stopped moving. Ratchet peered at her with uncertain eyes. Not a breath was drawn from her.

"Clank...?"

-O-

Alya felt as if her body was on fire. Electricity raged through her veins, causing her heart to contract crazily.

_"What's going on?" _she shouted mentally, _"Make it stop!" _she was calling for the voice.

_"I'm trying!" _

Then the shocking was gone. She was still.

_"Oh, blast it! You've lost all those biotic-nanos in your tail and legs! Argh!" _

She couldn't breathe. Her lungs screamed for air, and her head swam.

_"Stupid! Of all the idiotic things, you go and over-power your nanos on the first try! They simply took forever to install! Stupid!" _

_"Help... please..." _

_"Oh, yes, I forgot, you need air... eh, let's see if your systems aren't _that_ fried... Ah-ha!"_

Alya felt her diaphragm move, and she gasped for air, sucking down as much as she could. Her vision un-clouded, and her hearing was normal again.

"Alya! Are you alright?" Alya found Ratchet leaning over her, his forest-like eyes scanning her face with worry.

"Oww..." she groaned.

There was a sigh of relief from the mechanic, and he sat back on his heels, and stood. He offered her a hand, which she took gratefully.

"Nugh, I'm never trying that again!" Alya grumbled.

"What was that?" Ratchet asked, glancing at her from the corner of his eye.

"Dude, I don't know, I don't care, but whatever it was, let's go find somewhere to hid before we start to chat, I do _not _want to do that again," she grunted back.

"Agreed.

-O-

A/N: **Dear Lord, what a short chapter, makes me feel bad :( But, meh, I got it done. I've had a huge case of writer's block, and was a little too lazy to dink with this.**

**-Story in a nutshell: Well, the gang went to Metropolis, and all that crap, but a bunch of people recognized Alya, and someone called the cops on her, yada yada, but then when the cops came, Alya started to do some sort of weird voodoo magic crushy thing, and killed all the cops. Now she has a voice in the back of her head that yammers on about 'biotics'. End chapter.**

**-Next update time? Eh, dunno, depends when my writer's block clears up.**


	6. Sorry Folks AN

**A/N: **

** Fuckity fuckfuck.**

** Well folks, I'm terribly sorry, but due to the billions of other stories, writer's block, and stress problems, I am discontinuing this failfic. Yeah, it's a fail. I apologize to any who where reading, and the future readers who get to this chapter and say, 'WTF? Srsly, no moar pirates?'**

** This whole story is a big disappointment to myself, and has actually stressed me to the point of not wanting to update. So, sorry, I really am. I'm going to hop back to the Underland Chronicles in the book section, and chill out there, maybe go to Warriors or something, but this one's a no go. I may come back to write here again under different circumstances, but not anytime soon.**

** Once again, I am deeply sorry.**

** Uhm, Lissa signing out, for the last time.**

** _'Have ye good faithe, for from the ashes of failure, often rises the Phoenix, Muse of th' soul's desires,'_**


End file.
